Today, March 25, marks the Feast of the Annunciation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary as related in Luke 1:26-38. The Evangelist tells us that
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the Virgin Mary to tell her that she
would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Corpus Christi Church contains a beautiful
mosaic of this event which you can see in the apse (though you may need to walk
closer towards the High Altar and look to your left).
The mosaic is part of a series of five, each one each
measuring over five feet in width by eight feet in height. The mosaics were installed in 1896 and
represent five of the great subjects in sacred history: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Crucifixion,
the Resurrection, and the Scene at Lake Galilee. When you look closely you will see the numberless
small tesserae that are set together to form the backgrounds and minor parts of
the figures, including the nimbi. The
larger features of the figures however, and the folds of drapery, are painted
and vitrified in fire on larger pieces of mosaic glass. The
result, as the Baltimore Sun described on October 6, 1896, is “that all the richness of effect peculiar to
the mosaic process is achieved, with still more that is invaluable in the
drawing and expression of features otherwise less completely under control.“ The mosaics, as the stained glass windows
throughout the church, were prepared in England by the John Hardman and
Company. It took workers three months to
set the thousand pieces carefully in place one by one in the church.[1]
The Annunciation has been one of the most frequent subjects
of Christian art. Richard Taylor, in his
book How to read a church, describes
its standard representation:
The
key elements in the scene are Mary, the Angel Gabriel (carrying a scepter or
lily), and the Holy Spirit descending on Mary in the form of a dove. As the Annunciation was held to have taken
place in the springtime, it is often in or beside a flowering garden, or else
flowers (usually lilies) are shown in a vase.
Mary may be reading a book, on which are written the prophetic words of
Isaiah, “Ecce virgo concipiet et pariet filium” (“Behold, the Virgin will
conceive and will give birth to a son’; Isaiah 7:14). Close to Mary may be wool or fabrics, in a
reference to her work on the High Priest’s clothes when she lived in the
Temple.[2]
In Corpus Christi’s mosaic we are unable to read the writing
in Mary’s book, but the words of Gabriel’s greeting Ave Gratia plena (‘Hail, Full of Grace’) are depicted on the scroll
in the Archangel’s hand. The piece of
cloth behind the Virgin alludes to the medieval legend of the Virgin’s upbringing
in the Temple at Jerusalem where she would spin and weave the priests’
vestments. The dove descends on a
slanting ray of light that touches the Virgin’s head. Mary, dressed in blue, is sitting near a
Gothic arch with slender molded pillars, symbolizing Christianity and the
Church. She crosses her hands over her
chest and her head is slightly lowered, showing her prayerful submission and agreement. The
Archangel Gabriel is winged, dressed in traditional white and appears to be floating
in the air. His left hand is raised in the
way one would signify the beginning of an important oration.
[1] "Beautiful
Mosaics." The Sun (1837-1989) 06 Oct. 1896: 7. ProQuest
Historical Newspapers: The Baltimore Sun. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
[2] Taylor,
Richard. How to Read a Church: A Guide to Symbols and Images in Churches and
Cathedrals. Mahwah, NJ: HiddenSpring, 2005. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment